A Rough Yet Exciting Year
by T.Longhorn05
Summary: A man named Zack decides to quit his dream of winning another DOA Championship as he decides to try other things. His new hobbies make people think he is even more of a loser except a few girls decide to think different. ZackxAyane ZackxHitomi
1. A Really Rough Day

_This is just a Story I wanted to do it's my first Story so please go easy on me. _

_It's an early morning in Tokyo Japan fighter Zack Hughley has woken up to loud trains running through the City. He looked at the alarm clock and noticed that it wasn't as early in the morning as he thought it was. It was 11:00 am he was supposed to be a basketball practice for the USA Flame 30 minutes ago. "Dammit all" Zack shouted He is late again this is the third straight practice he will be late to attend. "The coach is gonna be pissed" he said to himself. He quickly got ready ran downstairs from his hotel room he tripped over a cord attached to a vacuum cleaner a man was using. "Sorry sir" he said embarrassed. Everyone was looking at him wondering why he is in a huge rush. Zack finally arrives at the practice gym and just as he expected the coach was pissed off. He walked in not looking at anyone he was too embarrassed knowing this is the third time he has been late. "ZACK!" the coach yelled. "Yes sir" he responded. "Why are you late, dammit this is the third and last time you will be late. You beg to play in the world basketball tournament yet you don't even show up for practice". The coach continued to fuss. _

_The other players resumed 3 point shooting practice while laughing at their worst player and laughing stock, Zack. "I promise I won't be late again" He said. "You better not because if you are I am waiving you from this team" The coach said. Zack was upset he worked so hard and begged to get on this team and now he is on thin ice. After practice the other players were laughing at him in the locker room. "Zack do us a favor and don't show up tomorrow" Said Mike Beasley the best player on the team. "Why not because I missed 30 minutes of practice?" Zack Asked "No because we want the coach to waive you because you suck, you can't play defense and you can't shoot worth crap. We could use a good water boy but you probably couldn't even do that right." Said mike. _

_Zack is really upset now they play Japan in two days and his team seems to hate him. Zack knows he can play ball he played for the Texas Longhorns in the NCAA League in America. " Hell no I'm not taking any shit from you anymore, I'm a better player than you and I know it, I'll show you when we play Japan I'll be the best out there." Zack said. The other players just laugh and left the locker room. Zack just had a start of a bad day. His team hates him what else could happen? _

_Zack left the gym to go get some food. He ate at a sushi bar a mile from the practice gym. The waitress there was staring at him the whole time. She came to the table. "Excuse me sir would you like more tea?" She asked. Zack nodded his head in silence he is still upset on how his skills have been lately. "Sir is you ok? You have had your head down the whole time." She said. "I have had quite a fucked up day I just want to be alone right now." He said. The waitress understood and walked away with her strange purple hair. Zack ate his food and left the restaurant. "Wait" a voice said Zack wondered who it was he turned around and notice the waitress was following him. (Damn what's with this lady) he thought. "You look like you can use a friend so I'll introduce myself my name is Ayane Kuriyame.". Zack was wondering why a random person would just come up to him like that. He could care less who she was. He decided to talk to her, "My name is Zack Hughley, its nice meeting you now I have to go now." He turned around and walked away "wait" she said again. (DAMMIT what does she want?) He thought. "Here is my phone number we should talk sometime." Ayane said handing him her number. "Ok I'll leave you alone now bye bye" Ayane said she finally left this time. _

_Zack was shocked on why she would just give him her number like that. He remembers a girl named Ayane from a Fighting tornemement he used to attend but he though nothing instead he walked away back to his hotel he wanted to think alone. How to improve his game so he can prove his team wrong. _

_So how was the first chapter? Remember it's just my first time so I might need some pointers. _


	2. The Day Before

_Chapter 2 _

_It is now 4:00 pm Zack is now back in his hotel, at the moment he is just lying on his bed face down in misery. He has to show his team that he can play basketball, but the first thing he needs to get straight is showing up a practice on time. If he's late one more day the coach will not hesitate to kick him off the team. This will of course make Beasley shout in joy. Zack decides to watch some T.V when he turned it on the news was talking about the Japan basketball team on how they are ready to face the U.S.A team. It seems like the Japanese team is intimidating the Americans. Japans star player Royko Mamiyuki was on the Screen talking. "I feel that the American team is just not ready for us, mainly because I hear of some extreme tension going on in the locker room. Besides we beat the Americans 3 years ago and we can do it again, who cares about Mike Beasley and Zack Hughley, he's garbage." Royko just started to enjoy his laugh with all the harsh words he said about the American team. (Man mike is probably pissed off) Zack thought. _

_After the harsh news about the American team Zack decided to go out into the city. He went to a bar to watch other world teams play. Russia against Thailand, it seems like Thailand has lost the game but that was just game one, they have 2 more chances to win. Zack continued to watch the game, think, and suck down a few Coors light beers. Thailand lost their game and now Russia need to win one more game to advance. Zack has one more day to kick up his game because the day after tomorrow is the big game. "Excuse me sir, you put money on the table are you sure you want another beer this would be your fourth one." The bartender said. Zack did not even answer instead he got up and moved some where else in the bar. "I wonder what the hell is wrong with him?" The bartender was worried. Zack sat down and ordered something to eat. He had a simple ham sandwich with yet another beer. It didn't seem like he was drunk, but it's not like he is trying to get drunk though. "Do you always drink this much?" said a girl. It was the same girl he saw earlier, Ayane. "No only when im really stressed out I hate drinking this much" He said. "Then why do you do it?" Ayane asked. Zack is now getting upset, "Who the hell are you why are you asking me all these dumbass questions? Can you answer that?" Zack said raising his voice. "Whoa what is wrong? Im trying to make you mad im just curious about you. Also I think I have seen you somewhere before." Ayane said She is really worried, but she has seen him before he was in the 4th DOA tournament and he lost, but she never really paid much attention to him. _

_During that tournament he was a guy who jokes all the time but now Ayane seems to think Zack is just a Drunk with no friends. Ayane told Zack where she saw him and then this brought back a few memories for him. "I remember now you are a ninja girl aren't you? Then there was Tina I forgot all about her. I forgot about all of this because I like to put bad memories behind me and you all where bad memories" Zack explained. "Well this seems like a bad memory too, look at you. You look horrible and you are sitting in a bar getting drunk. What you should be doing is getting some rest and practicing because you have a game in about 36 hours." Ayane said. Zack thought for a moment as much as this girl hated him, she was right. He got up said good bye to Ayane and left to go back to the hotel. That night he did not sleep well a lot of negative tensions where on his mind. Then the train woke him up at 5:00 am. "THAT DAMN TRAIN I HATE THIS HOTEL!" he yelled. Neighbors could hear him but at least he woke up early this time. _

_Zack left the hotel and 8:00 am to go to the gym. He waited for an hour in a half for the other players to arrive. Beasley then showed up, "well look who's here early this time" Beasley said looking at Zack. Zack didn't even look at him, it was like mike wasn't even there. " You know Zack I was really hoping you wouldn't show up, it was reduce our media attention and we would make better progress, someone like you can really slow down a champion like myself." After that Zack looked at him and get in his face however he didn't say anything he just walked away. When the coach showed up practice began. They started off with Drills of sprints; spin moves, hot steps and lay ups, Zack was always the last to finish. "C'MON HUGHLEY HUSTLE UP!" the coach ordered. Zack started to speed up a little. Beasley was just running a laughing at the same time. He thought someone like Zack will never win anything. After the drills came some stretching Zack was breathing hard, this was an intense workout for him especially because he hat be drinking the night before. After stretching was round two of the same drills Lay ups, spin moves and then they started to run some plays. Zack messed up two plays two very important plays. _

"_DAMMIT HUGHLEY, THAT'S THE LAST TIME YOU WILL MESS THIS PLAY UP." The coach yelled. The coach was really getting furious at Zack, this entire practice he has been slacking off and not keeping up with the other players. "Coach I need a break, I can't breath" Zack said. The team took a short Gatorade break Zack about two cups of the drink and tried to regain his energy. He was breathing very heavily; the other players have never seen this out of him. Five minutes later he got his energy back he was able to go again. They started the same plays again this time Zack didn't mess up, then they went into shooting practice he was good there too. After that was time for the weight room. Zack benched 245 while Beasley was getting 310 pounds. While watching Zack he laughed again but this time it cost him, He lost control of the barbell and the weight fell on his chest. Beasley was now getting laughed at, he made a fool of himself. "Damn even I have never done that" Zack said. The rest of the team laughed with him he was finally not the one being made fun of. After practice the other players game Zack some pointers but Beasley left the building going back to his hotel. _

_Practice was over Zack did much better how ever the coach still doubted him, the coach told Zack he might not play him in tomorrows game, this made Zack upset but he was happy he did better today. Zack went back to his hotel after dinner at the sushi bar down the road. He thought about how he did today and how he can make himself better. While thinking he fell asleep tomorrow was a big day its game one against a Japanese powerhouse._

_So how was this chapter? Was it better than the first? I would also like some more reviews please I think this is a good story but I need to know what others think._


	3. Game Day

_Thursday, July 27, 2006 _

_Today is the big day its 8:00 in the morning and Zack is just now waking up. He was shocked to not hear the train come by this morning. He brushed his teeth had some orange juice and went downstairs. There was no practice today because of the game tonight which has been moved to 6:00 pm. He went out to explore more of the city; however he is still not in a very good mood. He thinks he will ruin the game tonight and embarrass himself and the team. He went to visit a large library to find a book about Japanese basketball, he did not find anything just as he expected. He did take some pictures of the library because he felt it had an elegant view that can be remembered. It was now 12:00 noon, now Zack was hungry, as he was about to walk into a steak shop he got a call on his cell phone from Ayane. "Dammit what does she want?" He answered the phone in an angry tone. _

"_Hello?" Zack asked. "How come every time I talk to you, you're in a bad mood?" Ayane asked "I'm stressed with basketball it's not an easy sport you know besides why do you care in the DOA tournaments you hated me." Zack said. "Maybe I hated the way you acted but some things you have to let go. I think you need someone to talk to meet me at Fuji Steakhouse for lunch" Ayane said Zack didn't respond instead he hung up the phone. "Oh what an asshole," she said to herself. Zack did not want to go he didn't anything to do with anyone who fought in the 4th DOA Tournament. He was going to be a gentlemen and show up anyway. When he showed up Ayane did not want to even look at him. Zack smiled for the first time in a while, and walked to her table. Ayane was very focused in newspaper but really she was pretending to read just to be able to ignore Zack. "Hello Ayane" he said, she continued to ignore him. "well isn't that nice I actually choose to show up and you ignore me." Zack wanted to laugh, Ayane wanted to scream about him finding his rudeness funny. "I was ignoring you because you are rude, you hung up on me when I was about to say something. You also haven't been very nice to me since I first met you again at the restaurant." Ayane said. "Well you haven't been very nice to me in all the Tournaments I have been in, I even heard once that you said you wanted me dead." Zack explained Ayane was shocked and had a bold look on her face. "who in the hell told you that? I have never said such a harsh thing about you." Ayane said. She really couldn't believe this she has never said anything like that. "some guy named Ryu told me at the last tournament that's why I won't be attending the next tournament" Zack Explained "You quit fighting but you are a good fighter I would love to see you come back" Ayane said. "Well its not gonna happen because after the tournament I attended school at the University of Texas in Austin Texas. I play basketball there now." Zack explained _

_Ayane thought for a moment he's not doing to well in basketball neither. Then she had an idea. "I want you to promise me something, to me you aren't that good at basketball I personally think you suck at it." Ayane said Zack did not take that well he was beginning to get angry. "No hold on before you say anything listen to me, If your team is beaten out in this world series then you have to fight in the 5th DOA Tournament, but if your team wins then you can forget about everyone you met at the DOA Tournament and move on with basketball." Ayane explained her bet. "That means if we win you will quit bothering me forever?" Zack asked Ayane nodded her head yes. That's when Zack got happy and said it's a deal. They continued to talk and ate some lunch together. Its now 4:00 Zack caught a Taxi and went to the Japan Arena where they were holding the Tournament he was early but that wasn't a bad thing because everyone else was too. When he arrived at the Arena he noticed the entire Japanese team running laps around the arena including the parking lot. He gave them a strange look and just walked into the arena to go to the locker room. When he got to the locker room he put on some headphones and listened to his favorite rappers Bone Thugs N Harmony. The other players where showing respect to him as well except Mike who didn't even say hi to him. His best friend on this team just Shaun O'Davis just recovered from his knee surgery. He just arrived in Japan a hour ago and he was happy to see Zack. Before the game Shaun gave Zack some pointers on developing his Jump Shot since they are both play guard position on the team they are going to be doing a lot of jump shots. _

"_hey Shaun when you arrive here did you see the Japanese team running outside?" Zack Asked "yeah that's their way of warming up, they run three laps around the arena and then come in with us the do shooting warm ups, I don't know why they would waste their energy for that." Shaun said. The Japanese players have a lot of energy though so running as a warm up doesn't matter to them. The game is just now 30 minutes away and both teams are on their ends of the court warming up. Then the USA Team went to huddle up. "Ok boys listen up lets try to make our performance this time better than the last of course you all know this is a best of 3 games series and last time we didn't get one win on Japan. If we do go down lets at least make it look like we tried." The coach gave his speech. The game was now starting and the starting line ups for both teams was introduced. _

_USA TEAM JAPAN TEAM _

_PG: Shaun O'Davis PG: Zuyu Haido _

_SG: David Hunter SG: Ike Jisiadu _

_SF: Dwayne Dixon SF: Royko Mamiyuki _

_PF: Mike Beasley PF: Yuta Aidio _

_C: Ricky Rodriguez C: Toshi Takanowa _

_Zack was going to be on the bench for this game. The first half of the game was now starting. Japan has been known to be the most energetic and Highest scoring team for the past 6 years now. They Average 117.8 points per game that was more that the NBA's highest scoring team the Phoenix Suns and their 112.2 ppg back in America. The game was on and Japan's star player Royko was off to a very fast start having two dunks and knocking down 4 straight 3 pointers. USA's Mike Beasley was having a bad game missing his first 5 shots and missing 2 dunks. Shaun was doing the best he can to keep USA Back in this game. Japan's defense was getting better every time especially with the crowd shouting DEFENSE! Everytime the USA Team had the ball. Dwayne Dixon was now going to sit on the bench and Zack was going to take his position instead of his normal SG positons. Zack did pretty good earning 10 quick points from 2 3-pointers and 2 lay ups. The Buzzard went off it was halftime with Japan winning 62 to 42. While coming off the court Zack looked at the roaring Japanese crowd and noticed a purple haired girl sitting in the stands. It was Ayane looking at Zack smiling and holding up a sign saying "I'll see you at the 5th tournament" Zack gave her a mean look and continued to walk to the locker room. Ayane laughed at him when he gave that look. _

_The coach was preaching in the locker room. " We need to step up our defense and get better shots guys." He was mad at Mike because he was playing like a idiot. "BEASLEY HOW THE HELL CAN YOU MISS 2 DUNKS" the coach yelled Mike didn't even say anything. He looked at Zack and Shaun with a smile. " You two are doing a excellent job I expect you Zack to help lead the way by taking over for Dwayne when he is tired." "Yes coach I will" Zack responded. Halftime was over and the game continued. Japan's HOT shooting has cooled down and they started to miss more shots, however their defense is beating the hell out of the Americans. They are still not getting good shots and being careless with the ball. The final buzzard went off and Japan wins game one 124 to 89 it was a blowout. Royko had 34 points and Shaun and Zack had 24 points each. Japan needs to win one more time to Advance to the semi finals. The coach was upset they lost but he was proud of Zack Performance. Zack was finally getting some respect. When Zack was leaving the Arena Ayane looked at him and held up her index finger, which is a mental sign saying "one more win." _

_She laughed and went off in her car with a girl who appeared to be Kasumi. Zack could care less he wasn't going to let the coach or his friend down. He wanted to win. They may have lost game one but its not over. In his hotel he was thinking about some defensive moves in his PDA. He came up with some that will work, but he really need to come up with ways to stop Royko who shot 80 percent from the Field today. That's a crazy percentage but Zack was thinking to himself "He won't shoot that well Monday night" Monday is the next time they face Japan they have to win. _

_So was this a good chapter? I hope so oh yeah here is a lesson for those who don't know about basketball. PG means point guard position, the PG is usually a good ball handler great passer and terrific play makers, they also are good shooters from long range. SG is shooting guard they can shoot from anywhere and are great defenders from long range they are also very quick. SF is small forward they usually shoot from long rang and close range and provide Defensive help from anywhere on the court. PF is power forward provides high percentage shots from close range they are usually big in height they also help the center in offense and defense. C is center provides high percentage shots anywhere under the rim and guards the rim on defense. Also none of the players listed where real they where all made up. _


End file.
